Colossal (2017)

3.3

Colossal is a monster movie in the same way, Edgar Wright’s The World’s End, is about an alien invasion. As in, they are both fantastical blends of escapist entertainment, while also delivering stories about substance abuse and the physical and psychological damage it can do.

The World’s End is funnier in my opinion and brings its themes home a little more clearly than Colossal, but Colossal wins points by taking the subject of alcoholism and toxic relationships more seriously. These problems aren’t solved with a big Hollywood-esk finale or a melodramatic line of dialogue. And while Colossal is still fun, it’s not flippant, and all the better for it.

The ins and outs of this metaphor wrote large Kaiju flick, are skillfully handled by writer director, Nacho Vigalondo, and both Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis deliver pitch perfect performances. The visual effects are more than serviceable for a movie like this, and the movie’s conclusions are equal parts surprising and wise.

Movie Prep:

If you’re looking for a big dumb (but fun) monster movie, then go see Kong: Skull Island, or the last Godzilla movie. If you saw, enjoyed, and ‘got’ The World’s End, then you’ll probably enjoy this too.

Best Moment:

It’s in the trailer. Gloria (Anne Hathaway), takes her new drinking buddies to the area where she can control the beast terrifying, Seoul South Korea. She asks them to pull up the live feed of the beast, and they are amazed when she (and monster) start to dance.